Mental health issues are very prevalent in our society and seep into every facet of our lives, including work. An alarming fact is that South Africa was the lowest-ranked country based on mental well-being by the Mental State of the World report.
There are numerous types of mental health disorders with varying degrees of impacts on one's life. However, they should all be taken seriously.
One of these illnesses that can affect one's work is obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which Dr Gwen Tonyane, a psychiatrist practising at Netcare Akeso in Randburg highlights.
She describes obsessions as recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that come to mind, but are intrusive and unwanted, causing the person anxiety or distress.
"A person who suffers from OCD may try to self-manage the intrusive thoughts by distracting themselves with another thought or action, or simply trying to ignore the intrusive thought to help ease the anxiety and distress caused. But this is often very difficult,” she explains.
A person with this disorder may develop 'rituals’ which they do compulsively in the hope that they could influence external events to prevent the anticipated disaster from happening.
"The compulsions of a person living with OCD tend to be time-consuming. This can affect their personal management, at school or work, socially or in other important areas of their lives."
According to Lyndy van den Barselaar, managing director at ManpowerGroup SA, employee mental health should be a priority every month.
Here are her suggestions for companies to prioritise their employees' mental health:
- Provide employee coaching.
- Set healthy boundaries.
- Cultivate connections among colleagues.
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